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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. bore — to drill
  4. court — of a king
  5. spell — letters
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. clip — for paper
  8. spell — a short time
  9. charge — electricity
  10. charge — a price
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. pop — to visit
  15. capital — a city
  16. spell — magic
  17. charge — in control
  18. capital — money
  19. bore — to tire
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — music
  24. bore — gave birth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com